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Susie Swanson, wife of state Rep. Vern Swanson, R-Clay Center, is making her bid for his 64th District seat.

Vern, who was elected in 2006, said in March that he wouldn’t seek reelection in November. The 64th District started to include portions of Manhattan in 2012 after redistricting. Susie, also a Republican, said in a press release that elected officials should put the people of their district above politics and vote for the best interests of their constituents.

“I believe that we have had that kind of representation over the past eight years and I want to continue that philosophy,” she said.

Susie said Kansas will have some “signi½cant ½nancial challenges” in the future that will require cooperation and the inclusion of many ideas and points of view to help the state grow again.

“The current Legislature seems to be tilted to one point of view to the exclusion of many other well informed and thoughtful members,” she said. “My hope is that the Legislature broaden its makeup to include more thoughtful and common sense people with varying visions.”

Susie said jobs and public education would be her top priorities in office.

Swanson is now retired and working part-time at the Presbyterian Manor as a social work consultant. She worked for the Twin Lakes Educational Cooperative as a social worker for 26 years.

She joins a growing field in the Republican primary that also includes Kansas State student Ben Wilson and Kathy Martin, a former member of the Kansas State Board of Education.